Today was another lesson in not making assumptions! We feasted on probably the best roast dinner we’d ever had, in the pub with the silliest name!
We wanted to make the most of staying at a hotel that did not serve breakfast by getting an early start. So, we were plodding by shortly after 7am, looking forward to a bakery/coffee shop in town on the way. We were wondering which of a long list of possible breakfast items we’d enjoy, only to discover the bakery’s opening at 7 did not mean their baked items were ready! “About another hour” for what we wanted. We dejectedly moved on to the COOP to get a meal-deal for lunch (dinner actually, but more on that later). Disappointed by the COOP’s lack of anything interesting for breakfast, we returned to the bakery, and this time was offered a bacon bap, which sounded perfect. It was only after this that we strolled through the rest of Looe, and past many other open coffee shops with baked goods that got us salivating, but more temptations were not allowed.
The day’s walk was 10.5 miles with 2000 ft ascent. It took a while to get off the Looe roads, and after a long beach walk, we hiked several miles along a deserted clifftop, meeting no one other than sheep who had turned our trail into their pasture. It was a misty morning, with distant headlands barely visible through the haze. We hiked up what was probably the steepest hill so far, and the longest hill so far, but our focus was fixed on our destination.
It was a Sunday. In Britain, Sunday and pubs mean a roast dinner. The previous Sunday, we’d learned the hard way that the “dinner”’is lunch and stops accordingly. We were not going to make that mistake this time. We’d even arranged with the pub to keep some for us if we arrived after 4pm. Our focused determination meant we arrived shortly after noon 😎.
The Finnygook Inn in Crafthole does not sound fancy. Indeed, their website even describes themselves as not “over-complicated.” So far on this trip, We’d stayed in a five star establishment and had eaten at award winning restaurants in some of the most popular destinations in Britain. Photos of the building made it look quite nondescript, arguably unattractive. my expectations were not high.
All that changed the minute we walked through the door. A hostess greeted us, as if we were royalty, which was particularly strange as we were in very sweaty hiking gear and most other guests seemed to be in their Sunday best. The guy behind the bar who helped us was one of the most chill yet efficient servers I have met. The main waiter could not have been more accommodating in finding us a suitable table. That was all before the food. We went for “Finny’s Mixed Roast” which was a combination of beef, lamb, and pork, all with relevant fixings, lots of veggies, and potatoes roasted in goose fat! I’d set a rule earlier in this trip that I wasn’t going to finish Janet’s meals, but I had to break that rule here. It was the best roast dinner we’d ever had, though it’s also the only one we’ve had after walking over ten miles!
After the inevitable afternoon nap, we just stared at the view out of our bedroom window. We could see a river that was part of the Plymouth estuary, reminding us we had just two days of hiking left. I was already looking forward to planning the next one, noting the importance of fitting in Sunday roast dinners! We were also reminded that a meal-deal works just as well for dinner as lunch!
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 